An upturn in tourism industry is expected this year in Denmark after a dismal year in 2009, according to news reaching here from Copenhagen.

“All the local markets from where most of our tourists come have been hit hard by the financial crisis — Germany, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and the UK — they’ve all experienced huge drops in production, and that adversely affected consumer spending, including holiday budgets,” said a report published by the Copenhagen Post.

According to the report, tourism in Denmark generates about 127, 000 jobs both directly and indirectly nationwide, a figure representing every 20th job in the country. It also contributes tax revenues of some 22.7 billion kroner (about 4.3 billion U.S. dollars), of which 85 percent goes to the state.

Analysts said business tourism was strongly influenced by the economic slowdown since the travel budget is an easy place to save.

VisitDenmark believes that the worst is over, predicting a 5- percent growth in the number of overnight stays but the industry could reach 2007 levels in another two years, the report said.

It also said that Denmark’s tourism industry has not suffered worse than most European countries, and its 8-percent drop in turnover is on par with the continental average even though in general Denmark was hit harder in economic crisis than other countries.